USA 2 Costa Rica 2 (USA win 4-3 on pens)
June 29 – You’d hate to use the word ‘sterile’ to describe a Concacaf Gold Cup quarter-final, but following the drama and passion of Guatemala versus Canada, it all felt a little flat as the United States Men’s National Team (USMNT) and Costa Rica kicked off for the right to face Guatemala in St. Louis. After 90 minutes and the drama of penalty kicks,
September 26 – Frequently denounced by FIFA and UEFA but still dangerously prevalant, match-fixing has struck at the heart of top-ranked Spanish football with the state prosecutor to question players over allegations of possible rigging in a 2011 league game between Levante and Real Zaragoza.
September 26 – Thirteen Estonia-based players and two from Slovakia, already suspended by their own respective federations for match-manipulation, have had their bans extended worldwide by FIFA.
By Alexander Krassimirov
September 26 – The construction of the Hristo Botev stadium in Plovdiv has restarted with the backing of the local city government. In July, construction work at the stadium was frozen after club owner Tsvetan Vasilev’s Corporate Commercial Bank was closed.
September 26 – Manchester City has announced a new partnership with Malaysia’s leading male grooming brand, Dashing. The deal makes Dashing Manchester City’s Official Personal Male Care Partner in Malaysia for the next two years.
Ma Yun and his company Alibaba, have arrived on the world stage. The company’s blockbuster IPO in New York on September 19 turned the company the second biggest internet company in the world. The evaluation of the company surpassed $220 billion after the first day on the market, for the following several days, even though there was a reasonable fall in its price, it still worth more than $210 billion.
The other day, a reporter proclaimed how “sources close to Garcia” stated that Qatar won’t be sanctioned. She then proceeded to criticise the fact that FIFA’s Task Force, which deals with the international calendar – and as such also with the mayhem Qatar 22 may or may not cause – was discussing possible dates for the Qatar World Cup “as if nothing had happened”. Drip, drip sarcasm. So, here we go then:
By Andrew Warshaw
Spetember 25 – Just as FIFA president Sepp Blatter is due to inform his executive committee that he wants to stay in charge of the organisation for another four years, his only current challenger for the presidency says he has no intention withdrawing his candidacy and insists he is in it for the long haul.
By Mark Baber
September 25 – The Georgian Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA) has said that eight referees have been arrested in connection with fixing the number of yellow and red cards in matches. The investigation is focused on commercial bribery offences which carry a 4-6 year prison sentence.
By Mark Baber
September 25 – Aminu Maigari, the outgoing President of the Nigerian Football Federation (NFF), was again taken in for questioning by the Nigerian Department of State Services (DSS) on Wednesday as officials stayed away from their fire-damaged HQ in fears of being “called in for a chat,” arrested for contempt of court, or served with a Court Order relating to the upcoming elections of September 30.
September 25 – Portugal’s new coach Fernando Santos has lost his appeal against an eight-match FIFA ban for misconduct at the World Cup when he was in charge of Greece.
By Andrew Warshaw
September 25 – A clear and potentially damaging split within FIFA’s own ethics committee over the inquiry into possible corruption surrounding the 2018 and 2022 World Cup bid process has been exposed just as the leaders of football’s world governing body meet for one of its most eagerly awaited sessions.
September 25 – Russia is building more than stadia and infrastructure for the 2018 World Cup. Next week the Russian Football Union’s (RFU) working group tasked with preparing a competitive team for the championship will meet to discuss a raft of suggestions to improve the competitiveness of the national team.
September 25 – The 2014 World Cup in Brazil reported a doping-free championship, but the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) has had to step in with a suspension following a positive test at the Asian games currently taking place in Incheon, South Korea.
By David Owen
September 25 – Saudi Arabia has become the latest country to chip in to the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA)’s embryonic fund for new anti-doping research, donating $100,000 as the first instalment of an eventual $500,000 contribution.
By Jaroslaw Adamowski
September 25 – Diosgyori VTK is to launch construction of a new 15,000-seat stadium on its current site following the end of the 2014/2015 season. The Hungarian club from the city of Miskolc aims to open the new sports facility in 2016.